There is something to be said for “assume the worst” when it comes to defects in administration appointments and extensions. The court has taken this approach in a few cases where, rather than trying to work out the intricacies and effect of a defect on an appointment or extension, it has assumed the worst (i.e … Continue Reading
The Council of the European Union has just given the green light to a new EU Law that aims to bring consistency to key aspects of insolvency rules across Member States. For years, businesses and investors have had to navigate a patchwork of national regimes—each with its own procedures, timelines, and quirks. The new Directive … Continue Reading
It has been a while since we have had any cases challenging the fairness of a CVA, but in this recent Scottish decision where HMRC challenged the approval of Petrofac’s CVA on the basis of fairness, the court was required to consider HMRC’s contention that the CVA unfairly prejudiced its interests. In The Advocate General … Continue Reading
In Wonop ApS v Jagger (as joint administrator of FAI Realisations 2024 Ltd) [2026] EWHC 362 (Ch) the High Court was required to consider the effect of filing a notice under paragraph 84(4) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 – specifically, whether the registration of such a notice operates automatically to bring an … Continue Reading
The powers of provisional liquidators are generally as set out in the order appointing them. In longer running provisional liquidations, this can lead to multiple trips to court by the provisional liquidators to extend or confirm powers. In Re Versilia Solutions Limited[1] the High Court considered the scope of provisional liquidators’ powers in circumstances where, … Continue Reading
When a business runs into financial difficulties and proposes a Company Voluntary Arrangement (“CVA”), landlords, insolvency practitioners and local authorities can disagree about who should pick up the bill for business rates on empty leasehold premises – the landlord, or the company in CVA?… Continue Reading
In a world where it is much more common to send someone a text, a WhatsApp message, email or other electronic communication, than type a letter or put pen to paper, the Court does find itself now and again considering how the digital ways of communicating interact with laws that were introduced way before the … Continue Reading
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)[1] upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that the claimant, Mr Chaudhry, could not recover a basic award for unfair dismissal following their employer’s insolvency unless an employment tribunal had determined the claim and made an award. Why is this relevant to administrators? Because for an employee to bring a claim the … Continue Reading
At the beginning of 2025 we shared our predictions on what we expected to see in the R&I market over the course of the year. How did we do? … Continue Reading
Despite meeting statutory jurisdictional requirements under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the High Court declined to exercise its discretion in favour of sanctioning Waldorf Production UK Plc’s restructuring plan in August 2025due to concerns about fair allocation of value and lack of meaningful engagement with unsecured creditors. Waldorf then sought and was granted … Continue Reading
In a first, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has exercised its anti-avoidance powers under section 47 of the Pensions Act 2004 (PA04). While it has issued contribution notices (CN) under section 38 of the PA04 on several occasions, this is the first time TPR used its section 47 powers issuing a CN in respect of a … Continue Reading
As practitioners will know, when dealing with a sale of an insolvent business they will have to consider whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) applies. TUPE applies to transfers of businesses or undertakings (or parts of them). If there has been a relevant transfer under regulation 3 of TUPE, then … Continue Reading
The ability to cram down dissenting creditors in a Restructuring Plan (RP) is a helpful tool to ensure that a proposed restructuring is not derailed. But ultimately the power rests with the court in deciding whether to cram down an RP on dissenting creditors.… Continue Reading
In the High Court decision of Pagden v Ridgley [2025] EWHC 2674 (Ch), Mr Justice Foxton considered an appeal from a decision by ICC Judge Greenwood, who previously dismissed a challenge to the fees charged by an administrator for selling land subject to a fixed charge.… Continue Reading
On 8 October 2025, the Court approved a significant milestone in the long-running insolvency proceedings of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE). After 17 years in administration, the Court granted an order terminating the administrators’ appointments and paving the way for LBIE to enter a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL).… Continue Reading
HMRC has issued new guidance explaining its expectations for the proportionate and appropriate use of Notices of Intended Dividends (NOIDs) in an MVL in light of what it says are challenges created by practitioners issuing a NOID at the start of an MVL where doing so might be inappropriate. … Continue Reading
In a short, but helpful judgment the court considered whether the stay imposed by s130(2) of the IA 1986 on actions or proceedings against a company in liquidation applied to a secured creditor exercising its power of sale. In confirming that it did not, the court outlined the purpose behind that provision and considered what … Continue Reading
The ability to fund insolvency litigation can make a significant difference to realisations in an insolvent estate. Although many claims are now assigned to specialist funders (where the funder both runs and funds the claim) some insolvency practitioners have (at least until the Supreme Court decision in PACCAR came along) used litigation funding agreements (LFAs) … Continue Reading
Judge Agnello in a recent court decision[1] concluded that a company must pay its debts within the period of 12 months from the start of an MVL, and if it does not, the liquidator is obliged to convert the MVL to a company voluntary liquidation (CVL).… Continue Reading
The Insolvency Service have held a long-established view that creditors are classed as such at the point of entry into an insolvency process. This view was brought into question and challenged in the cases of Pindar and Toogood where in essence the judges (after considering the definition of secured creditor in s248 of the Insolvency … Continue Reading
Since the cases of Avanti and UKCloud we have seen more arguments around the classification of a charge – is a typical floating charge asset actually subject to a fixed charge? Is a fixed charge really floating? Much depends on the control the charge holder asserts, but we have seen some novel claims. The position … Continue Reading
As insolvency practitioners (IPs) it is not unusual to have to consider the terms of a particular contract, whether that is enforcing the terms of that for the insolvent entity or considering the rights of the third party as against the company, and in some cases, it is necessary for IPs to enter into a … Continue Reading
We have seen an increasing number of contested restructuring plans (RPs) over the last quarter. With a notable shift of RPs into the litigation arena, and some gentle push back from the judiciary about timetabling and use of court time the judiciary has published a draft practice statement for consultation outlining new case management requirements … Continue Reading
Much will depend on the specifics of a company’s financial position, but there are some themes from the OutsideClinic and Enzen judgments that are helpful – and arguably so even beyond the context of RPs for a company’s managing its relationship with HMRC. Is HMRC in or out of the money? In OutsideClinic HMRC had … Continue Reading
